Eurozone inflation holds steady at low rate of 0.2%

Lower energy costs have kept a lid on inflation across the 19-country eurozone economy in the year to December.

Official figures show that consumer price inflation held steady at 0.2% for the second month running.

The rate was positive for a third month in a row but below market expectations for a modest increase to 0.3%.

Energy prices once again kept inflation way below the European Central Bank’s target of just below 2%.

Eurostat said annual energy costs were 5.9% lower. Still, that drop was the smallest since July as year-before effects fall out of the annual comparison.

Low inflation is the main reason why the ECB has embarked on a series of stimulus measures over the past year.